Machine for applying sole edge covers to platform shoes



Feb, 4, 1947. E. A. CREPEAU MACHINE FOR APPLYING SOLE EDGE COVERS TO PLATFORM SHOES Original Filed Oct. 1. 1942 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Ira/en tor Ernest A. Crepeau Feb. 4, 1947. E. A. CREPEAU 8 MACHINE FOR APPLYING SOLE EDGE COVERS TO PLATFORM SHOES Original Fild Oct. 1. 1942 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 lm/en t0r Erne5z A. Crepeau Patented Feb. 4, 1947 MACHINE For: APPLYING SOLE EDGE oovnas T PLATFORM SHOES Ernest A. Crepeau, Haverhill, Mass, assignor to United Shoe Machinery Corporation, Flemington, N. J., a corporation of New Jersey Original application October 1, 1942, Serial No. 460,384. Divided and this application March 23, 1945, Serial No. 584,385

9 Claims. 1

extent in play shoes and slippers, may consist of a resilient pad of uniform thickness from heel to toe or of a pad which is thicker at the heel portion than at the toe portion. The peripheral portions of these pads are usually covered with strips of leather or cloth to hide the raw edge faces and provide a finished, decorative appearance. The binding material comes in strip form and is Wide enough to overlap the top and bottom faces of the pad and to be secured. to these faces by stitching, stapling or adhesion. A single strip may be applied to the entire peripheral edge or there may be a piece surrounding the heel end of the pad and another piece surrounding the toe end.

It hitherto been customary to attach the binding strip to the peripheral edge face and to the marginal surface portions adjacent thereto with the entire width of the binding strip adhesively secured to the pad. Even when the binding strip was finally secured by stitching or stapling which extended through the marginal portion of the pad from top to bottom the binding was, nevertheless, adhesively secured over its entire Width. When the pad, which. is composed of resilient material, is compressed under the heavy pressure of the sole pressing machine, the binding strip, which has been adhesively attached to the peripheral edge of the pad, is caused to wrinkle. Even when the pressure is released and the pad expands to its original thickness the binding nevertheless remains wrinkled because of the fact that the adhesive-coated surfaces of the binding strip and the pad do not move freely with respect to one another. The same effect appears to a less extent when the sole is sub jected to the intermittent compression of daily use.

The above-mentioned Letters Patent No. 2,397,245 disclose an improved method of and machine for applying a binding strip to the marginal portion of a midsole. In accordance with that method adhesive is applied to the marginal portions of the top and bottom faces of the midsole, including the corners formed by the intersection of the peripheral edge face with the top and bottom faces. A precoated binding strip having its opposite marginal portions extending beyond the top and bottom faces of the midsole is then wrapped about the peripheral edge of the midsole and caused to adhere temporarily to the corners thereof, after which the projecting marginal portions of the binding strip are bent inwardly into engagement with, and are wiped over, the top and bottom faces of the midsole While pressure is applied thereto to compress the margin of the midsole and to bond the marginal portions of the binding strip permanently to the midsole. No adhesive is applied to the peripheral edge face of the midsole, and the binding strip is not bonded thereto. As a result, that portion of the binding strip covering the peripheral edge face is held taut, by the tendency of the edge of the midsole to expand, and is free to come and go with the contraction and expansion of the midsole. An object of the present invention is to provide a machine suitable for carrying out that step of the method which consists in wrapping the precoated binding strip about the peripheral edge of the midsole to cause the binding strip to adhere temporarily to the corners of the midsole. In accordance with a feature of'the invention, there is provided a means for supporting a midsole for turning movement in the plane of one of its surfaces, and means for progressively feeding a precoated binding strip to a locality adjacent to the supporting means with the adhesive-coated surface lying in a plane at right angles to the plane of the midsole and with the marginal portions of the strip projecting beyond the top and bottom faces of the midsole. Thus, the midsole may be readily brought into contact with the binding strip and turned on the support to cause the binding strip to be Wrapped about the peripheral edge face of the midsole and to adhere to the corners thereof.

These and other features of the invention, including certain details of construction and com binations of parts, will be described in connection with an illustrative machine and pointed out in the appended claims.

Referring noW to the accompanying drawings,

Fig. l. is a view in side elevation of an illustrative machine embodying the invention;

Fig. 2 is a section taken on the line 11-11 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is an angular view showing how the binding strip is applied to the heel portion of the midsole with the marginal portions of the binding strip extending beyond the top and bottom faces of the midsole; and

Fig. 4 is an enlarged section of the marginal portion of the midsole showing how the adhesive is carried out to the corners to enable the binding strip to adhere to the corners.

The machine shown in the drawings is a portion of the apparatus disclosed in said Letters Patent No. 2,397,245. This machine comprises a horizontal platform l8 mounted for vertical adjustment on a horizontal bed 29 extending forwardly from a frame I6. The bed 20 is fastened by bolts 2| to a forwardly projecting bracket 32 formed integral with the frame 16. The vertical adjustment of the platform I3 is provided for by a vertical stem 22 which is attached to the underside of the platform and is threaded through the bed 20 and is held in its adjusted position by nuts 24 surrounding the stem and engaging the opposite faces of the bed. A midsole b is supported upon the platform IS with its peripheral edge face adjacent to the vertical peripheral surface of a roll 26, the latter being mounted for rotation with a driven shaft 28 journaled in suitable bearings, one of which is formed in the bracket 32. The near side of the platform is sloped downwardly at [9 and is rounded off to form a smooth approach so that when the Work is presented to the platform it will not catch on the edge thereof. The roll 26 is secured to the upper free end of the shaft 28 by a setscrew 34 which is passed through an enlarged hub 36 or flange formed at the lower end of the roll 26. The hub 36 rotates in a hole 37 formed in the bed 20. The upper surface of the hub 36 is substantially in the plane of the upper surface of the bed 2E] and forms a support and guide for the lower edge of a binding strip a which is fed into position to be applied to the peripheral edge face of the midsole, as will now appear.

It will be observed that the upper or supporting surface of the flange 36 is below the level of the under surface of the midsole supported on the platform I 8. The binding strip is thus supported in a predetermined position in which its marginal portions extend above the level of the upper surface and below the level of the under surface of the midsole. These marginal portions of the binding strip will later, in accordance with the method disclosed in Letters Patent No. 2,397,245 above referred to, be applied to the respective surfaces of the midsole.

Referring to Fig. 2, there is illustrated an endless belt 38 a portion of which engages the rear side of the roll 26, the belt being mounted for movement upon a pair of rolls 40 and 42. The roll 40 is mounted for free rotation on a vertical spindle 44 supported at its opposite ends in the bed 29 and a bracket 46, the latter being fastened to the frame I6 by bolts 47. The spindle 44 is fixed in the bracket 46 by a setscrew 48. The roll 62 is mounted for free rotation on a spindle 50 one end of which is secured in the bed 20 and the other end of which is secured in an overhanging arm 52 extending forwardly from the frame [6, a setscrew 54 being provided for fastening the spindle G in place. The belt 38 is caused to travel upon the rolls 40 and 42 by frictional .engagement with the binding strip which is fed between it and the positively driven roll 26. It is to be observed that the surface of the belt is provided with parallel angularly disposed lines of stitches 56 which may be of thread or fine wire. The lines of stitches frictionally engage the surface of the binding strip and prevent slippage between the belt and the binding strip. The binding strip a is fed between the belt and the roll 26 with its adhesive-coated surface in engagement with the belt so that as it is ad vanced forwardly to the front surface of the roll the adhesive-coated surface of the binding strip will be outermost, as shown in Fig. 2, and in a position whereby the midsole, supported upon the platform 58, may be brought up against the adhesive surface of the binding strip (Fig. 1). While the entire inner surface of the binding strip is covered with adhesive, the nature of the adhesive is such that it will adhere only to a surface treated with a like coating of ad hesive. Consequently, only that portion of the binding strip which comes into contact with the corners of the midsole at this step in the process of applying the strip will adhere. After the midsole has been brought into engagement with the leading end of the binding strip, the strip may be applied tautly by pushing the midsole as if to feed it a little faster than th binding strip.

In order to guide the binding strip to the bite between the endless belt 38 and the roll 26, there is provided a throat-shaped guide (Fig. 2)

' consisting of a pair of converging plates 58 attached in a vertical position at their lower edges to the bed 2!), horizontal tabs 60 being formed at the lower edges of the plates through which screws are passed to fix the plates in position. The converging plates terminate close to the point at which the endless belt comes into engagement with the roll 26.

For holding the midsole upon the platform l8 while it is turned to wrap the binding strip about its peripheral edge face, there is provided a spring-pressed holddown roll 62 (Figs. 1 and 2) mounted at the lower end of a spindle 64 which is vertically slidable in a bore formed in the overhanging end of the arm 52. As will be observed, a spline 65 formed on the spindle 64 and a keyway cut in the above-mentioned bore prevent rotation of the spindle in the bore. A spring 68 surrounds the spindle 64 and abuts at one end an enlargement on the spindle and at its opposite end the underside of the overhanging arm 52, thereby constantly urging the hold down roll 62 toward the platform E8. The holddown roll 62 may be raised away from the platform, to permit the work to be placed thereon, by means of a lever 10 and a treadle rod 72, the former being pivotally mounted upon a forked post l4 rising from the top of the arm 52. The lever 70 has a slot H at one end to receive a pin it carried by a block "if fastened to the upper end of the spindle 64. The other end of the lever i0 is attached to the rod l2 by a pin 18. It is to be observed that the holddown roll 62 will rise and fall with the variation of the thickness of the midsole as it is rotated in contact with the roll 26. As will be seen by reference to Fig. 1, the marginal portions of the binding strip project beyond the top and bottom faces of the midsole. These projecting marginal portions may be made to overlap one face more than the other, or they may, by the vertical adjustment of the platform I3, be made to overlap both faces an equal amount.

The midsole b may then be presented to other machines disclosed in said Letters Patent No. 2,397,245 to bend over the projecting marginal portions of the binding strip a and apply them to the top and bottom faces of the midsole. Fig. 3 shows the midsole b with a second binding strip a already thus applied around its toe portion. The portion of the binding strip a which overlies the peripheral edge face of the midsole b is not bonded to the peripheral edge face but is free thereof and is under tension.

Having described the invention, what I claim as new and. desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States is:

1. In a machine for applying a binding strip to a midsole, a support having a surface arranged to receive one face of a midsole, a bind ing strip support adjacent thereto having a surface arranged to engage an edge of the binding strip, means for advancing the binding strip over the binding strip support, and means for adjusting the midsole support vertically with respect to the binding strip edge engaging surface of the binding strip support.

2. In a machine for applying a binding strip to a midsole, a support having a surface arranged to receive one face of a midsole, a binding strip support adjacent thereto having a surface at right angles to the surface of the midsole support, means for feeding the binding strip to said binding strip support, and means for adjustingthe midsole support with respect to the binding strip support in a direction at right angles to its surface.

3. In a machine for applying a binding strip to a midsole, a midsole support having a surface arranged to receive one face of a midsole, a binding strip support adjacent thereto having a surface at right angles to the surface of the midsole support and a surface parallel thereto to receive a surface and edge respectively of the binding strip, means for adjusting the midsole support to move its surface toward and from the parallel surface of the binding strip support, and means for feeding the binding strip to said binding strip support.

4. In a machine for applying a binding strip to a midsole, means for supporting the midsole so that it may be turned in the plane of one of its surfaces, a cylinder having a surface at right angles to the plane of the support, and an endless belt co-operating with the cylinder to hold the strip against the surface of the cylinder and to advance it to a point thereon adjacent to the support.

5. In a machine for applying a binding strip to a midsole, a support having a surface for holding the midsole so that it may be turned in the plane of one of its surfaces, a cylinder having a surface at right angles to the plane of the support, and an endless belt a portion of which engages the surface of the cylinder and co-operates therewith to grip and feed the binding strip in a plane at right angles to the plane of the support to a position adjacent to the support.

6. In a machine for applying a binding strip to a midsole, a support having a surface for hold ing the midsole so that it may be turned in the plane of one of its surfaces, a cylinder having a surface at right angles to the plane of the support, an endless belt a portion of which engages the surface of the cylinder and co-operates therewith to grip and feed the binding strip in a plane at right angles to the plane of the support, and means for guiding the binding strip to the point at which the belt meets the cylinder.

7. In a machine for applying a binding strip to a midsole, a support for a midsole, a roll for presenting a length of binding strip having an exposed adhesively coated surface, said roll being arranged to support the binding strip against the pressure of the periphery of a midsole on said support, a flange extending from said roll engageable with an edge of the binding strip to maintain the binding strip in a predetermined positicn, and means for feeding the binding strip to the roll.

8. In a machine for applying a binding strip to a midsole, a support for a midsole, a roll having a substantially vertical peripheral surface for presenting a length of binding strip having an exposed adhesively coated surface, said roll being arranged to support the binding strip against the periphery of a midsole on said support, a flange extending from said roll below the level of the under surface of the midsole on said. support and engageable with the lower edge of the binding strip to maintain the binding strip in a predetermined position wherein the lower marginal portion of the binding strip extends below the level of the under surface of the midsole, and means for feeding the binding strip to the roll.

9. In a machine for applying a bind strip to a midsole, a support for a midsole, a roll for presenting a length of binding strip having an exposed adhesively coated surface, said roll being arranged to support the binding strip against the periphery of a midsole on said support, a flange extending from said roll engageable with an edge of the binding strip to maintain the binding strip in a predetermined position, and an endless belt cooperating with the roll to hold the strip against the peripheral surface of the roll and to assist in feeding the strip.

ERNEST A. CREPEAU.

REFERENCES CITED UNITED STATES PATENTS Name Date Germain Apr. 21, 1942 Number 2,280,069 

